A Lot of Good Will for Rail Freight Transport

During the Bahn25 conference titled “Advancing Rail Freight Transport Together,” high-ranking representatives from politics in Switzerland, Germany, and the EU, from chambers of commerce, large logistics companies, and the shipping industry met last Friday in Basel in front of a large audience. The inconclusive conclusion: “Only together can we succeed.”

(Basel) The annual railway conference is gaining increasing influence and attracts hundreds of decision-makers from politics, the transport industry, and railway operators. This year, the focus was clearly on rail freight transport. High-ranking representatives from the federal administration and the national railway company, along with representatives from abroad, discussed the challenges and perspectives of freight transport by rail with business representatives.

At the beginning of the event, Martin Dätwyler, Director of the Chamber of Commerce of both Basels, pointed out the outstanding role of the Basel region for export, import, and transit traffic – and warned against jeopardizing this role through a lack of investment. The expansion of infrastructure is therefore essential – especially the repeatedly delayed trimodal terminal “Gateway Basel Nord.” For completeness, it should be mentioned that more and more logistics companies are disappearing from the region. It would be easier to maintain existing areas than to create new ones in the densely populated region. The railways also play a role here by converting former freight areas into residential areas, which generates more profit than logistics areas.

Four Core Demands for Increased Efficiency

At the conference, the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Geneva, Ticino, and Valais adopted a resolution with four central demands: First, better connectivity of border areas to regional transport; second, strengthening strategic freight transport corridors, especially in the south and west, as well as in the two Basels. Third, secure, long-term financing through the railway infrastructure fund is demanded. And fourth, prioritization of investments in particularly burdened railway junctions.

Delays and Closures Burden the System

However, not only is the European rail freight transport currently in a difficult situation. Massive construction projects and bottlenecks in neighboring countries lead to an alarming punctuality rate: Only a fraction of freight trains currently reach their destination on time. Jörg Stefan, Head of Rail Freight Transport at the German Federal Ministry of Transport, even stated that the journey to the conference felt like a trip to the gallows given the current situation.

There were also some jabs, especially against Deutsche Bahn, as the problems there have repercussions on neighboring countries, particularly Switzerland and Austria. A clear statement was made, for example, by Sven Flore, CEO of SBB Cargo International. He criticized that there is always a call for a lot of money for infrastructure, but obvious issues, such as personnel problems, are hardly addressed. There is significant potential for improvement in personnel efficiency in the short term. Bureaucracy also plays a significant role.

Martin Brunner, Managing Director of DSV Switzerland, also criticized the railways harshly. He mentioned that while it would help if the railways were more proactive in informing about delays and problems, the best solution for the customer must be found, and that often lies on the road.

In another presentation, Ulla Kämpf, announced as an expert in rail freight transport, called in a passionate speech for a rethinking of rail freight transport, a different approach, and the courage to abandon previous patterns, without, however, becoming concrete. When moderator Dieter Kohler asked how she would approach changes, there was – nothing.

Abolition of the Rolling Road

The abolition of the “Rolling Highway RoLa” by Switzerland at the end of 2025 (instead of the end of 2028) was also mentioned. Due to the already mentioned problems, the implementation became even more difficult than it already was. It was a loss-making venture, to say the least. However, the RoLa removed 80,000 truck trips from the road, and one can safely assume that these will now return to the road. Establishing traffic in unaccompanied combined transport as an alternative is hardly possible, as it requires a lot of volume and a reasonably balanced parity in traffic flows. However, the customers of the RoLa cannot fulfill this, which is why they chose this route over the Alps.

Conclusion

The large and leading railways are still the former state railways. They are usually public law companies. The organization of these companies is typically linked to the infrastructure, albeit with their own subsidiaries, but still not entirely independent. The appointments to supervisory and management bodies are primarily or often made according to political desires or sensitivities. And with the cumbersome subsidiaries in freight transport, little glory can be achieved.

Private railways demonstrate that it is also possible to successfully implement freight transport by rail. However, they also face obstacles, such as rising track prices, construction sites, or the absence of signal box staff, etc.

At the conference in Basel, representatives from politics, business associations (usually also politicians), and representatives from business sectors that rely on the railway predominantly participated. Among the logistics service providers, two industry leaders, DSV and Rhenus, were present, who have sufficient volume on the main routes to handle this via rail.

It can be assumed that what fits on the rail is already running on the rail, not for ecological but for economic reasons. Industries with bulk goods, such as steel, mineral oils, liquid chemicals, cement, etc., depend on the railway, especially on a functioning one.

All hinterland traffic with seaports is also running intermodally on the rail or, where possible, on water.

In these cases, the road could neither compete organizationally nor price-wise.

Seen in this light, there were approaches at the congress to improve what exists. However, the time horizons are, by nature, more to be measured in decades than in years. Whether the large railways are willing to question their internal organizations in addition to investing in infrastructure remains open.

Photo: © Bahn25 / Caption: They spoke at the railway congress in Basel (from left to right): Jörg Stefan, Head of Rail Freight Transport, Federal Ministry of Transport Germany / Prof. Pawel Wojciechowski, EU Coordinator North Sea-Rhine-Mediterranean Corridor / Pierre Maudet, State Councilor of the Canton of Geneva / Alexander Muhm, Head of Freight Transport SBB AG / Christa Hostettler, Director of the Federal Office of Transport / Isaac Reber, President of the Government of Basel-Landschaft / Vincent Ducrot, CEO SBB AG / Martin Dätwyler, Director of the Chamber of Commerce of both Basels / Esther Keller, Government Councilor Basel-Stadt / Stefan Luggen, Deputy Head of Mobility Canton Valais / Claudio Zali, State Councilor Ticino